3D Model Hollowing is Makeprintable’s new feature that will be of meaningful use and has several advantages to everyone.

It will automatically re-mesh your model emptying out the core. Why is this beneficial?
First and foremost, is if you plan to use any 3D printing that uses powder material such as sandstone, this feature will empty out the core, and allow you to add escape holes for access material. Leading to less material due to removing the pit, and allowing access material to fall out.

Second, it will save you material by generally printing less volume for the build.

Finally, if you value your time, it will save you time from having to do this manually, or calibrating your slicer infill and testing this out.

How to get benefits of 3D Model Hollowing ?

To run an experiment we took a 3D model and uploaded it to Shapeways checking the price before hollowing the design and after. To make it more interested, we selected two materials a cheap and an expensive one.

Here’re the results
The most reasonable optionStrong & Flexible Plastic, which amounted to ($87.48).
The expensive material we selected was Raw Aluminum, which turned out to be ($1,392.84).

After using the hollowing feature and reuploading the files back to Shapeways. The results were shocking.
The price for the cheapest material Strong & flexible plastic is ($63.89) saving about ($24).
The cost of the most expensive material Raw Aluminum is ($849.72) saving about ($540) which are equal to the cost of a brand new iPhone 6.